‘Super-sub’ role won’t satisfy Salahpublished at 13:30 GMT
13:30 GMT
Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist
Mohamed
Salah clearly isn’t ready to embrace his new role as a Liverpool benchwarmer –
he’s made it abundantly clear he feels he’s “earned” his status as a regular
starter.
The forward
has indeed made the vast majority of his 420 appearances – 91% to be precise – in
the first XI since joining the club in 2017, including over 97% of his minutes.
While it
has been rare for Salah to be used off the bench, he’s actually performed very
well as a replacement, with his pace and eye for goal particularly effective
against tiring defences.
He has scored
14 times in 37 appearances as a substitute, equivalent to a goal every 66
minutes – notably better than his record of a goal every 141 minutes when
starting.
It was as a
second-half substitute that he scored the Champions League’s fastest hat-trick in 2022, a feat completed in six minutes and 12 seconds against Rangers.
With Salah
now 33, and Liverpool boasting an embarrassment of riches in attacking
positions, there’s an argument that occasionally using him as a ‘super sub’
might be an effective ploy to preserve his longevity, wear down opponents and
maximise squad depth.
However,
that can only work with buy-in from the player himself. Given the apparent
breakdown in the relationship between Salah and head coach Arne Slot, it appears
unlikely the Egyptian will be happy to see out his Liverpool days on the bench.
